Calling Out ASUC Officials
A recent commenter offered a very good challenge: "Name one tangible project a Calserve Senator has undertaken and completed this year. I dare you." In my mind, when I think of CalSERVE's efforts in the last year, the first thing that comes to mind is the Multicultural Center, which at the moment could probably be classified as a big gigantic failure. But my half-hearted memory is a poor way to go about judging a political party, so I decided I would put some effort into evaluating the Senate's accomplishments for the year.

Specifically, I will be e-mailing each senator tonight asking them to get back to me in two weeks with a report on how they did accomplishing their goals for the year. The goals I am referring to are the goals that they campaigned on, which can be viewed at the Student Action and CalSERVE websites. (Warning, the SA website makes repeated and hideous usage of PDF files, for which I curse them). Since a number of SA [slight edit here] candidates campaigned on making the campus safer, I'm curious what they've done on that front, but almost every Senator has something that they promised to do that can be held accountable for. Beyond asking them to comment on whether they accomplished their goals for the year, I will invite them to add any additional comments about what other achievements they are proud of. I will begin by looking at Senators who are running for re-election or for higher office, and also offer general party critiques in the coming weeks. Let the fun begin!

I think that ASUC campaigns on this campaign are conducted in an atmosphere largely devoid of any serious look at prior accomplishments or accountability for the promises that are made, and I would like to see that changed. Finally, I will pledge to all of you that CalStuff will be the single best source of election information available. That doesn't necessarily mean that ASUC news will dominate CalStuff, or that we will be neglecting other newsworthy events (we won't), just that we will provide better election coverage than any other source.

(If anyone else has taken PS 104 with Karol, they could probably see the influence of that class in this post.)Email This Post!

Shameless Trolling for Hits
The CalPatriotBlog has an update on the most popular terms that lead people to their website, and after years of domination, apparently "John Yoo" has nudged ahead of "glory holes". Glory holes used to be the big term that led people to the Patriot, because a bunch of people wanted to find out information about glory holes. So if people are looking for glory holes they probably won't find any information here, although I guess glory holes is a popular search term. Um... glory holes.

[For those people who have no idea what I'm talking about, here is the original (hilarious) Patriot article that focused all the attention on campus glory holes.]Email This Post!

Connerly Speaks out on Term as Regent
The SacBee has an excellent article by Ward Connerly about his term as a UC Regent. If you have any interest in how the Regents operate, university policy in general, or his legacy on the board, you should definitely read this article. [If it prompts you for a login name and password, cough cough bugmenot.com cough] Article via RIL, which has posted the entire text of the article.Email This Post!

Extra Classes Could Mean Extra Money
The Daily Cal is reporting that, "Students Could Pay For Excess Units":

Some students who exceed unit caps for graduation ["10 percent more units than the minimum graduation requirement"] may have to shell out an extra fee to UC if a state-driven proposal to charge students for excess units gets the nod from the UC Board of Regents in May.

There are more details about the specifics of the program like cost, and how many students would be affected (apparently very few) in the article. From a purely self-interested perspective this sounds like a fine proposal, as it wouldn't affect me personally, and it would be others who would be paying the extra fees.

From a broader viewpoint, this sounds like a good idea in theory; if people take more time to graduate, or take more classes, then they should pay more than other students. The more I think about it, the less simple it seems. UC Berkeley is a public university, and it has certain obligations because of that. UC Berkeley should be wary of providing an education based on what you can afford, with wealthier students being able to purchase more classes and a better education. If Berkeley wants to use a unit cap for students that could be a solution that doesn't depend on charging different students different amount, but instead giving students a certain number of units or time in which to graduate. I am just extremely wary of having an education system that taylors your schooling depending on how much you pay. [Obviously, the larger issue of making Berkeley more affordable for low-income students in general is a much more difficult problem to solve.]Email This Post!

Monday Morning Question: Undecided Voters
This whole election season dog and pony show seems almost silly to me, in the sense that I get the impression very few students are actually deciding between CallSERVE and Student Action, who put in the vast majority of work for the election. In reality, the decision is between voting and not voting. With that in mind, I'm curious how many of you haven't actually made up your mind who you will support, whether it's CS, SA, Bears United, Squelch!, or some other party or independent? You can also leave a comment of who you are going to support, as I am curious what the political leanings of the CalStuff readership is (not that a pseudo-poll like this would yield any meaningful information).Email This Post!

Berkeley Science News Roundup
I ran across a comment that summed up my views nicely:

I like science. I always liked studying science, for which I had a natural aptitude, and I like reading about it still. Any kind of science captures my interest—the natural sciences, the social sciences—in no small part because I feel it is an important endeavor to helping us make sense of the world around us, and the things and people in it. A certain respect for science seems not only admirable, but wise...

So with that in my mind, here is some recent science news with a Berkeley angle to it (this is by no means a comprehensive list, but just some articles that should be of interest to the average Berkeley student).

1. "Central Valley fossils open window to rich era of beasts: Pit bull-like creature had feet of a bear" Berkeley researchers are analyzing a whole wealth of recently discovered fossils from near Fresno including many new species, such as "the king of fang-and-claw terror in California, a hulking beast with the face of a large dog and the feet of a bear."

2. "RHESSI satellite captures giant gamma-ray flare" Astronomers around the world recorded late last year the brightest explosion ever of high-energy X-rays and gamma rays — a split-second flash from the other side of our galaxy that was strong enough to affect the Earth's atmosphere." The best measurement came from a joint NASA/UC Berkeley satellite.

3. "UC Berkeley's Sagehen Creek Field Station is home to two new Cal bears" (with cute pictures) Two orphaned female bears have been placed on a UC Berkeley research area where they can grow up in the wild.

4. "Discovery of gliding ants shows wingless flight has arisen throughout the animal kingdom" Berkeley Prof and two others authored a Nature article on a new discovery about the ability of ants who have fallen out of a tree to glide back and land on that same tree. Article has pictures and videos of the ants in action.Email This Post!

Random Berkeley Artist (Too Cool Not to Blog)

Via boingboing, I stumbled across this Berkeley artist who creates rather amazing furniture and bookshelves out of old books.

As Berkeley students have a habit of decorating their domiciles with the exact same things (Salvador Dali and Animal House posters, lava lamps, and things made out of beer cans for example) I guess I can justify this post as helping to bring nonconformity to the masses. [But really, I just felt like sharing. In case you all haven't noticed yet, during the weekend CalStuff strays away from your more standard news coverage.]

I suspect given some free time, I'm going to attempt something like this over spring break, as I think this is an appropriate way to dispose of some of the old books I have. If that goes remotely well, I'll post an update with some tips on what to do, and some pictures of my finished products.Email This Post!

Life Imitating Life (Davis pulls a Felarca in their elections, and then lets candidate back in)
UC Davis just had their student elections, and just like here, a winning candidate was disqualified. The Senator in question was Rob Roy of the Friends Urging for Campus Kindness party, and he was DQ-edfor not turning in a proper receipt. (Yes the acronym is on purpose. From what I can tell, they seem like the SQUELCH! Party of Davis.)

After a vocal uproar about how unfair this was, he was requalified, and ended up as the top vote getter in the election. I understand that UCSD had a similar incident a couple years ago, with one of the major parties being disqualified, and then let back in. This leads me to the conclusion that rampant illegal campaigning shall continue here at Berkeley, as any sort of enforcement seems extremely unlikely.

My only thought is that a system could be put in place that would find a way to punish people short of disqualifying them. If the only options are no punishment whatsoever or being thrown out of the election, it makes this latter option extremely unlikely (and rightly so, as eliminating candidates should be an absolute last option). Perhaps keeping track of party violations and giving them a grade for how poorly they campaigned, and then putting this on the ballot next to them next year might work, although not for any independent candidates. Anyone else got an idea?Email This Post!

You People Complain About Everything
*Update* Thanks for the help. I decided I'm going to write the column that I was considering writing last week, based in part on some of your comments.

Except the Daily Cal. I was considering writing a lengthy post about how great the Daily Cal is, just to see if I could spark an argument, and some criticism in comments. As the Public Editor, it makes it difficult for me to write a column responding to the public's concerns if people do not voice any concerns. If anyone has any gripes whatsoever, please e-mail me at readersrep@dailycal.org or comment here, and I would love to address any complaints you might have in a column. Thank you.Email This Post!

CalSERVE Courting Jewish Votes?
Some interesting data points:

• A bill supporting reinstating the study abroad program in Israel was left on the consent calendar, so that the full Senate would not have to vote on it. This means that CS Senators who opposed the bill wouldn't have an opportunity to vote against it. Since they knew it was going to pass anyway, it means that they wouldn't have to record a vote in opposition, which could hurt them in the election.
• Takruri's divestment bill was withdrawan, also sparing a debate on this sensitive subject, and making it unnecessary to record the stance of CS Senators on the issue. Takruri claims that the reaction she received from other Senators (i.e. mucho opposition) led her to believe that this wasn't a proper time to introduce the bill.
  
• CS is trying to slate Danya Rosen, member of IAC, for Senate this year.
  

Maybe it's just a big coincidence...?Email This Post!

Apparently the University may not only be paying its workers sweatshop wages, they may also be paying sweatshops to make clothes for these workers. The SF Business Times reports on the union's claims that sweatshop labor from Southeast Asia and Central America makes the uniforms for the workers. The UC fires back saying "'prohibits the use of foreign-made equipment, materials, or supplies produced by forced, convict, or indentured labor.'"

Whether or not the unions claims are true, there will apparently be a protest against the use of these sweatshops tomorrow at 12 PM in front of Crossroads Dining Commons.

Meanwhile, a new paper by Prof. Laurel Fletcher tells of people in California being forced into deplorable working conditions.Email This Post!

Following up an earlier post, the city of Berkeley has now formally filed a lawsuit against the university over the Long Range Development Plan. The SF Chronicle has an article on it, once again reiterating the city's claim that the plan is "blank check [allowing the University] to build wherever, whenever, and however it would like." The suit was filed on the basis that the environmental report was not adequate. Residents in the city of Berkeley also feel bitter about the University's tax exemption status.

Meanwhile, the University issued a statement on the suit, claiming it follows all environmental regulations and that the colleges purchase around $70 million dollars in good and services around the Berkeley area (I wonder how they got that figure).Email This Post!

All Sorts of Great Stuff at the Patriot Blog (Trash and Hunter)
I'm not sure if you guys all read the Patriot Blog anyway, but if so excuse the redundancy.
1) Berkeley has installed a trash can that takes a picture of the top of the trash pile, and projects the image onto the sidewalk. More details, in their post. From the people behind the can, "the resulting visualization depicts a layering of trashcan activities and patterns, not unlike the archeological layers typically found during years of drought or catastrophic change." It's located right by the Shattuck Bart station.

2) Also, Patrick Rodriguez managed to dig up an old article by the recently deceased Hunter S. Thompson about the Berkeley Free Speech Movement.Email This Post!

Berkeley Homicide Numero Uno
Daily Cal, "Woman Dies Two Weeks After Severe Beating":

A woman severely beaten in central Berkeley died from her injuries Sunday, almost two weeks after the assault that is now the city’s first homicide of the year, authorities said.

After lying unconscious for nearly two weeks, Mary Kint, 45, died about 2 p.m. Sunday at Highland Hospital in Oakland, said Cheryl Gibbs, a supervisor with the Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau.

Every death is a tragedy. I don't have anything further to say on this, as the details are largely unclear at this time, but we should be grateful that things are so safe here that we can generally count the murders in Berkeley each year on one hand.Email This Post!

Anti-War Now Equals Pro-American Deaths?!?
I forgot to mention this previously, but there was a shocking article in the Daily Cal last Friday, "Just Another American Publicity Stunt". In it, two members of Berkeley Stop the War make the claim:

We believe it has become impossible any longer to be anti-war without also being pro-resistance. The occupation will only end if the Iraqi people are successful at dealing increasingly decisive blows to a U.S. military that shows no signs of leaving.

That seems to me an unequivocal statement in support of increasing military casualties for the troops serving in Iraq. I don't know if someone has some alternate explanation for what that passage means, but if it means what I think it means, then it falls outside the bounds of acceptable war opposition in my mind. Calling for troop withdrawal from Iraq = alright, calling for more American deaths = not alright, in my book.

I hope this article discredits Snehal as any sort of leader worth following here in Berkeley. And by that, I don't mean that I oppose the causes he supports, and so I hope no one listens to him. In fact, I most likely agree with him on some of his anti-war views. I hope he is discredited because I hope that people in Berkeley (including the anti-war left) is still sane enough that they won't accept any sort of leadership from someone who is calling for the deaths of the Americans serving in Iraq (many of whom are usually low on the socio-economic ladder, and are victims of this conflict just like those Iraqi civilians who are being killed.)Email This Post!

Divestment Bill Withdrawn
Senator Takruri (who I do not believe is an anti-Semite) was going to have a bill before committee Monday night urging the University to divest from companies that sell military equipment from Israel. Takruri (who I do not believe is an anti-Semite) ended up withdrawing that bill, so it would not be heard. Since I have no idea why Takruri (who I do not believe is an anti-Semite) did this, and since she probably wouldn't appreciate it if I called her at 3 in the morning, I'll have to make up a reason why she withdrew her bill.

As fun as blaming Mossad would be, I'm going to have to go with the fiery condemnation from CalStuff as the reason that she decided not to push her bill. Go CalStuff!Email This Post!

BeetleBeat's ASUCies (Comedic Insults at Our Campus Leaders)
B.A.D. has gone to the trouble of reading through all the ASUC Senator profiles previously mentioned on CalStuff, and had some largely farcical awards to hand out. Here is a sample, but be sure to trek over there and read them all.

Poser Award
Billy Wang, for trying too hard.

Failure Award
This one would've been an all-way tie, with everyone failing their goals completely. This is further compounded by the fact that some goals are so ridiculously vague, to call them successes or failures is not even meaningful. So the award goes to Jason Dixon, for having a concrete goal (preserving the drop deadline) and failing spectacularly at it (i.e. failing badly enough that I notice).

Success-by-default Award
Dena Takruri, for planning on "Establishing prayer space for students on campus" when such space already exists.

Zen Award
Anil Daryani, for the most nonsensical philosophy.

Email This Post!

Update on Gun-Toting Berkeley High Student
Since I mentioned the incident involving this girl previously, I figured I would pass on the information in today's Daily Cal (all direct quotes).
The Girl:
Coplan said the student has good grades and no previous history of disciplinary problems.

The Excuse (which I believe):
District officials said both the student and her father claimed the student had been given the gun “for safekeeping.”

The Punishment:
A three-member expulsion panel of district administrators is expected to make its recommendation to the school board by Friday, but the board has final say over what will happen to the student, Coplan said.

The federal Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994 requires school districts to expel students guilty of gun possession on campus for one calendar year.Email This Post!

Comments on Our Constitutional Rights
Today's Daily Cal has some interesting letters, including one from Hiraa Khan, a board member of the Berkeley ACLU (Second one down). She claims that:

Many ASUC-sponsored student groups advertise that in order to gain access to events, students mustn’t carry signs of any sort and have their bags searched upon entry. Such stipulations are a violation of the First and Fourth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and the ASUC constitution’s Bill of Rights.

Signs of reasonable and non-obstructive size are a form of protected speech. Campus groups’ denial of access because of signs is a blatant violation of this right. Banning them essentially creates “free speech-free zones” on campus...

Additionally, many groups search students’ personal belongings before allowing them to enter an event. Such searches are unwarranted and clearly infringe upon our constitutionally-protected right to be free from unreasonable searches.

My understanding of this issue is that there is by no means an absolute right to free speech on campus, but instead free speech exists in places where it has been "created" by the repeated exercise of free spech, such as in Sproul Plaza. I don't think the ACLU would argue that we have the right to carry a sign into a packed lecture hall during class, which could express our opposition to a professor's opinions, but also impede the view of other students. Similiarly, is security a legitimate reason to mandate a search, the way airports search everyone before they fly.

I am hoping the law students who read CalStuff might be able to chime in, and let us know what rights students actually have, and whether the searches and sign confiscations that occur are actually "a violation of the First and Fourth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution." On the point regarding a violation of the ASUC Constitution, I'll see if I can get my hands on said document, and I welcome anyone else's informed opinions on what sections of the ASUC Constitution might be applicable.Email This Post!

Inside Bay Area has an interview with Chancellor Birgeneau about his tenure in Berkeley so far. It primarily focuses on the poor diversity numbers of the university.

Reassessing admissions policies needs to be part of the solution if the University of California, Berkeley, is to reverse the dismal enrollment figures of blacks and Latinos, the university's new chancellor said in an interview last week.

While Robert Birgeneau isn't ready to lay down specifics, he acknowledges a little tinkering should go hand in hand with other efforts — such as strong outreach programs — to prepare and attract blacks and Latinos to the prestigious campus.

He also talks about his experiences at Cal with the students...

One of his biggest surprises has been the reception from students, who, at least in this first blush of newness, are treating him like a rock star.

Almost daily, groups of students stop Birgeneau on campus and accost him on the streets of Berkeley. They pull out cell phone cameras to take pictures of him, then e-mail the snaps to their mothers.

"This has never happened to me before in my life," said a delighted Birgeneau, who said the undergraduates are among the most engaged he has ever met.

"The student body is very different from the stereotype that people have of Berkeley as a place with a student body who's only interest is in oppositional politics," he said. "Our students are the exact opposite."

and the city of Berkeley.

But it hasn't all been cell phones and proud parents. Birgeneau also has found himself at the center of a lawsuit threat from the city of Berkeley over the campus's 15-year development plan, and has clashed with Berkeley city officials over recently announced plans to renovate Memorial Stadium and other parts of campus.

Strangely enough, though, Birgeneau doesn't make any mention of this on his weblog.Email This Post!

The Bancroft Library, which already houses some impressive collections like the Mark Twain Papers, is nearing another landmark achievement. The Contra Costa Times has an article on the search for what possibly could be the 10 millionth book in Berkeley's collection.

UC Berkeley will become the fourth U.S. university -- and the second public university -- to boast a 10 million-volume library collection. Harvard, which has more than 15 million books, and Yale lead the pack, while the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has 10.2 million.

A Berkeley committee has started discussing which item will take the honors, even though the event is essentially ceremonial because librarians won't know exactly which volume will be their 10 millionth. The collection encompasses 24 campus libraries.

"It's a kind of rite of passage for a university library," said Michael Gorman, president-elect of the American Library Association and dean of library services at Fresno State. "You don't want it to be a Danielle Steel or something."

I certainly hope it's not Danielle Steel...

*Correction*: As some of you have pointed out, the Bancroft Library does not house 10 million books. The article refers to the books in the UC Berkeley collection.Email This Post!

Amazing Security Flaw on the ASUC Website
As if I haven't given my ASUC website friends a hard enough time already, here is something more to get them all upset with me. The ASUC website has a nifty little Calendar keeping track of events, where people can post what is going on. Any by people, I mean anyone! Go ahead, go add something yourself. It's super easy.

Already, someone has scheduled February 25th as Official ASUC "Get Absolutely Nothing Done Day" (not me, I promise). I assume sooner or later the adults will realize that we're monkeying around with their website and fix things, but for now it'a free for all.

Having a completely unprotected Calendar like this worked fine as long as nobody was actually using/looking at it, but I'm guessing the intention is for people to visit it sometime in the future, so some feature that requires a webmaster to approve things before they go up would probably be a good idea.

(And yes, I realize that I could have just just passed along an e-mail informing the people behind the website of the security flaw in the site, but this is substantially more fun. Also, before people accuse me of tarnishing the idea of a ASUC website that anyone could have been able to post events on, once people actually started visiting it, I'm sure a million people would have figured that out anyway and made all sorts of immature jokes. Finally, to those people who could do something about fixing this, you should totally pretend that you didn't see this post so us kids can have some fun before you shut things down.)

P.S. If you feel the need to update the calendar, be sure to grab a screen shot of your handiwork.Email This Post!

News on Stadium Renovation
Over at CalJunket there is a report on some recent news regarding the "the Memorial Stadium (slash Haas School of Business slash Boalt School of Law) renovations."

Go read the full thing if you're interested, but here are some brief details about what is supposedly going on, "New bleachers will be put in... Permanent artificial lighting will be installed... The university still needs to raise a lot more money before the project can begin construction."

Also: "the city of Berkeley and its residents are big douchebags".Email This Post!

The Chronicle Piles on Over UC's Shitty Treatment of Low Wage Workers
Last Wednesday I linked to a Daily Cal article about the low wages paid to the workers on the bottom rung of the university ladder, and offered my own comments.

On Friday, the SF Chronicle had another article on the matter, "Arbiter says UC clerical workers underpaid" and the UC administration ends up looking even worse:

In a rebuke to the University of California, a neutral fact-finder has ruled that UC's denial of raises to low-paid clerical workers last year was based on excuses that were false or unjustified.
...
[Professional arbitrator Gerald McKay] found that while UC has claimed its policy forbids worker pay raises in years when the state does not provide money for salary boosts, the university handed out raises to a substantial number of nonclerical employees in such years. [emphasis mine]

It was bad enough when the UC system was just paying abysmally low wages, but now a neutral investigator has all but called bullshit on the excuses offered up by the administration to justify these low wages.

On Friday, the Coalition of Union Employees (CUE) held a rally in Oakland at the UC Office of the President. The Daily Cal report on that rally had this additional information, "According to the report, UC diverted $20 million, earmarked for clerical worker wage increases, to other funds and programs last year, leaving a bad taste in many workers’ mouths." [I believe the "report" mentioned by the Daily Cal is the same one as the Chronicle article, although there aren't enough details to be sure.] CUE has protested on and around campus a number of times before, and it largely seems like an ineffective tactic.

The University has offered up a third excuse, after their first two (mentioned in this previous CalStuff post) apparently fell flat. (Probably because they were bullshit excuses...) Here is the latest justification from the horses' mouth:

The statement from Dynes' office said the university disagrees with the retroactive pay recommendation in part because it would amount to an across- the-board salary increase for one group of workers that "would be unfair to the other UC employees who also had to forego increases for 2003-04 when the state was unable to appropriate funds for UC salary increases."

I guess there would be a certain perverse fairness that would be commendable about reasoning like that, if the UC hadn't been handing out pay increases right and left to top level UC administrators. I have no idea how long this latest excuse will remain operational for, although my guess is not very long.

The Chronicle article includes a quotation from a union attorney, saying "the workers are now legally cleared to strike if UC refuses to follow the nonbinding recommendation". The potential downside of a strike is that it falls into the trap of pitting the low level staffers at the University against the students. That could lead to resentment in the student body, although most likely against both the striking workers and the University. This makes it unlikely that students will engage in any useful support on behalf of the workers. A strike therefore becomes a game of chicken between the University and the Union, and it's hard to speculate how that would turn out (although students would definitely suffer if it happened.)

Above all, reading article after article about how poorly the University is treating some employees is extremely disheartening. Shoddy labor practices should be reserved for places like WalMart, that bastion of liberal condemnation, not the University of California. Being ashamed of the school I attend, and feeling impotent to do anything about it, is not what I envisioned I would find at Berkeley.Email This Post!

Readers Rep Column Number 2
I've got another column in the paper today. I discuss "extremist wack-jobs" and why I think the Daily Cal has shirked its responsibility to help bring about positive change on campus. Specifically:
"If its Senior Editorial Board cares enough to write about an issue, they should care enough to put their effort into improving that situation."

Any comments about the column you can leave here, or if you have any complaints about the Daily Cal, I'd love to hear those also. Thanks!Email This Post!

Rhetoric and Celtic Studies Professor Daniel Melia will be brought back to Jeopardy tonight, Feb. 18, as part of the "Ultimate Tournament of Champions", an event that pits the greatest Jeopardy players of all time against one another. Prof. Melia was on seven years ago, winning $75,000 and a silver Corvette.

Newscenter has an article in which he describes his last experience, along with that of Barbara Gross Davis, assistant vice provost for undergraduate education, who appeared on the show before Alex Trebek was the host.

You can catch the episode on Channel 7 (KGO) at 7:00 PM.

*Update: Professor Melia has advanced on to the next round of the tournament, winning a little over $19,000. No word yet on when his next appearance will air.Email This Post!

More ASUC Crap
I'll be doing my best not to turn CalStuff into ASUCStuff in the coming weeks, but obviously, there will be an increase in ASUC related coverage as elections draw near. That being said, one thing that all of you who are interested in ASUC mumbo jumbo should take a look at is this page, which contains a list of all the Senators and a handy link for the goals that they are trying to accomplish this year.

Some of them were smart enough to list some vague amorphous goals, making it nearly impossible to check whether or not they accomplished what they set out to do. Other Senators were much more specific, meaning they are either more ambitious, or less intelligent (depending on how cynical you are), and now have a clear scorecard to check whether or not they achieved their intended goals.Email This Post!

CalStuff: PG-13
For those of you interested, in their latest theatrical review, the Daily Cal has helpfully included a little photographic interracial lesbianism...

[If California were a red state instead of a blue state, this post would have been called CalStuff: NC-17]Email This Post!

**Breaking** - Senator Billy Wang Drops From Student Action

SA's first two senators to quota last year are officially no longer in the party.

Billy Wang officially announced at tonight's meeting that he would no longer affiliate himself with Student Action. Rumors regarding this decision had been floating around for a couple of days, and the party may or may not have distanced itself from Wang earlier in the week.

Some choice quotes from the announcement:

"There is no ideology holding the party together."

"I didn’t learn to be a politician until I entered Student Action."

"I have been disrespected and used, and this is how I plan to stand up for myself."

Other important points of information:

- Senator Wang is the chairman for the Financial Committee.

- Current makeup of the Senate: 10 SA, 6 CS, 4 Other

- During the speech, Senator Wang rebuked stances that he had taken “along party lines”, including those on affirmative action and under-funding of groups from URM backgrounds. This backs up a very raw and unconfirmed, but multi-sourced rumor that Senator Wang is seeking the nomination of CalSERVE for an executive position. While not the strangest thing that has ever happened in the ASUC, it would be one of the more Machiavellian occurrences in the last couple years.

- It was no secret that Senator Wang was seeking an executive position, and his party’s lack of motivation to slate him more than definitely contributed to his flight from the party.Email This Post!

This ice sculpture entitled "Knot Divided" was entered in the International Snow Sculpture Championships in Breckenridge, Colo. The figure is actually a twisted Mobius Strip, a surface with one edge and one side. Professor Carlo H. Séquin used computer models to help design the piece, but unfortunately it did not take first prize (see the results). More details on this sculpture can be found in this summary.

(Found via Newscenter)Email This Post!

Tom Bates Probably Running for Mayor Again
The Daily Cal has a report that Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates said, "I’m going to run," referring to the upcoming election.

CalStuff has its fingers crossed that the Daily Cal will once again endorse his opponent and that Bates will once again end up, "very exhausted from the election, getting very little sleep" and "overwhelmed by the stress" because we all know what happens when that occurs.Email This Post!

Israel Divesters Take to the ASUC
CalSERVE-ian Dena Takruri has a bill supporting the UC divestment campaign in this week's bill packet. My first inclination was to write a post discussing what role this bill might play in the wider effort to bring about a student-led, nation-wide divestment campaign against Israel, similar to what happened with South Africa, but then I realized that this bill stands almost no chance of passing. In fact, it's doubtful it will get out of committee, but if it does, I will be extremely shocked if Student Action doesn't block vote against it, and hence defeat it. [I'd post a link to the bill, but something as useful as posting copies of ASUC bills is obviously far too convenient/useful for the ASUC.org website to consider.]

That being said, it seems kind of an odd time to push a bill like this. First, things actually seem to be going rather well in the Middle East, comparatively speaking. Sharon is pushing his disengagement plan (and threatening to sack ministers who oppose it), the newly elected Palestinian Prime Minister brought about a cease fire and both sides are recognizing the not insubstantial progress being made. Doesn't exactly seem like the time to jump on a extremist campaign designed to isolate and radicalize Israel in the face of potential divestment.

Perhaps this is just a ploy by CalSERVE to drum up support in their anti-Semitic pro-Palestinian base for the upcoming ASUC elections... It also might indicate that the confrontational campus-centered activism of years past (Wheeler sit-in) has been abandoned in terms of a more professional, coordinated legislative approach. Too bad they don't have the elected officials for that to work, either.

[Additional Note: Commenters, please don't feel the need to debate the intricacies of the Middle Eastern situation here, as there is a lot to talk about concerning how activism related to that conflict is playing out here in Berkeley. Also, in case it wasn't obvious from the post, I'm a strong supporter of Israel, and hope this divestment campaign fails.]Email This Post!

UC Apparently Paying Poverty Wages
I've generally not given much credence to the constant complaints by UC workers about how badly they are treated, but I never realized how truly badly they actually are treated. From, "Report Finds UC Wages Inadequate":

UC service workers are not earning enough to cover the basic cost of living for themselves or their families, a report released yesterday claims.

The report, conducted by the National Economic Development and Law Center, showed UC service workers’ wages lag 15 percent behind wages for similar jobs at CSU, and fall 26 percent lower than their counterparts at state community colleges.

The University first offered up "the report’s findings are flawed and inaccurate because it compares wage ranges, rather than reflecting actual salaries of UC employees," but that apparently wasn't a convincing response, so the spokesman continues with this, "The low wage rates are a side effect of the budget crunch, which is something UC cannot control." Somehow I don't think claiming that salaries are completely out of UC's control is going to fly either.

One strategy of the University is to subtly play off the students against the workers, implying that an increase in fees is necessary to pay for higher salaries for these low-wage workers. Then it's increased student fees vs. underpaid university employees. In this dynamic, the salaries for top administrators or coaches are usually ignored.

It's no wonder we get articles with information like this:

UC medical schools’ top executives are receiving $2.4 million in bonuses this year, with not one penny of that sum going toward students or university workers, outraging some UC workers.

As students prepare to pay higher fees for the fourth year in a row, 65 UC hospital senior executives at the Davis, San Diego, San Francisco and Irvine campuses are raking in extra cash.

Seriously, let's have a crappy football team with a poorly paid coach and not have the people who clean our classrooms and work at the cafeteria on food stamps.Email This Post!

CalStuff Gossip
Another new CalStuff feature - a round-up of any interesting/hilarious campus occurrences not quite significant enough for their own posts. For those of you who know me in real-life, don't worry, I'm not going to be reporting on your little foibles on CalStuff. In fact, if I learn anything that I think would be worth publishing, I'll ask your permission before I include it on CalStuff.

1) Tsunami Humor
Apparently the weather got the best of the little white tent that had been set up on campus as a part of Happy Fun Tsunami Week, and a particularly large gust of wind blew the thing over. At that point, a random passerby screamed "tsunami!", causing a nearby ASUC senator to begin laughing at the spectacle.

2) ASUC Slating Mumbo Jumbo
We've been getting word over here at CalStuff central about slating decisions by Student Action and CalSERVE, and we'll be bringing you more details on that shortly. Multiple sources have informed me that CalSERVE has slated current ASUC Senator Dena Takruri for President. I spoke with Takruri and she offered a half-hearted denial of the report, claiming that "the CalSERVE slate is not finalized yet". This is definitely the rumor on campus (even SA people say they have been hearing it), but it could just be a big mistaken rumor, or some sort of disinformation campaign put out by CS.

Which brings to mind the question, is there a reason to start a false rumor like this? Perhaps SA did it to make the eventual candidate seem worse by comparison (this stipulates they hold Takruri in high regards), or maybe someone is doing the opposite to make the eventual candidate look good in comparison. Or maybe it's just a trial balloon to see how her campaign would go over. Once the slates have been officially announced, CalStuff will have all the details.

3) Rocky's Legal Woes
Apparently Rocky Gade may be technically ineligible to serve as AAVP, but the intricacies of the legal case aside, does anyone else find it ironic that our Academic Affairs Vice President is a fifth year Extension student. (Cheap shot at both Rocky and Extension students, but still funny enough to go with...)Email This Post!

Easy CalStuff Contact
You can now reach all the CalStuff writers at calstuff [at] gmail [dot] com. That e-mail address, as well as our individual contact information will be over on the left sidebar.

Also, in other news, Ninja Cards are now only $5. They pay for themselves on the very first use. If you want to get one, help CalStuff and buy one by clicking the link on the right. Thanks y'all.Email This Post!

More Aerial Photography
Normally, I wouldn't post something that appeared in comments, but since some of you probably don't check them, and since this was too cool to pass up, Rebecca's pointer to the Microsoft aerial photographs has some amazing images.

You can find your house or other Berkeley features without too much difficulty. Here is the stadium, in all it's glory (thank to Alex R. for showing me this picture, click for larger image):

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I've Never Understood Why You Can Own a Gun and Not Nunchuks
A homeless, most-likely deranged, transient is now defeneless against a potential mountain lion attack, "Police Arrest Transient For Possessing Nuncucks".

According to the police, "it is not uncommon for transients to live along Berkeley fire trails."Email This Post!

Blah Blah Blah Felarca Blah ASUC Blah Daily Cal

So, the Daily Cal gets major kudos here for saying something right and taking a strong position doing it. The editorial rightfully assaults the stance that Senator Felarca has taken during her federal lawsuit against the ASUC (see previous CalStuff editorial) and discusses the many other productive ways that the $15,000 she has been authorized for a settlement could have been spent. My choice picks:

- Saved 3,750,000 square feet of rain forest in UC Berkeley’s name. (Hey, I'm a nature lover.)

- Extended AirBears to more parts of the residence halls.

- Helped out 1,000 of the most economically disadvantaged students with textbook costs.

- Covered the fees of two in-state students for two semesters.

- Covered the stolen ASUC Bookswap money nearly twice over.

Other possibilities not mentioned by the DC editorial:

- Upgraded the equipment in the rapidly-aging ASUC Publication Center.

- Provided more funding to smaller, poorer-represented groups in the ASUC.

- Organized Ten Jello Wrestling tournaments on Sproul Plaza.

- Opened the Eshleman Study Lounge for longer hours for the rest of the year.

- Increased lobbying for better admissions policies for underrepresented minorities (oh, the irony)Email This Post!

Ways to Help Out CalStuff
I wanted to create a sidebar link for this information, which means I have to post it first. Anyone who wants to give us a hand, here are some ways you can help out.

1. Read CalStuff.

2. Comment on CalStuff. The posters here are never offering the final level of analysis or reporting on any issue. We read the comments posted here, and it almost always helps give us, and the other readers, a better and more complete view of what we are writing about when our readers help fill in information.

3. Tell your friends about CalStuff. The more readers the better, both because it helps with number 2 and 4 above and below, and because we tend to write more if there are more readers around to see it. Here are some easy ways to spread the word about CalStuff:

• Use the "E-mail this Post!" link available at the bottom of each post.
• Place a link to CalStuff somewhere that a number of Cal students might see it (examples include a personal website, your AIM profile (thanks to everyone who did this), your facebook profile, a LiveJournal, or anywhere else.
  
• Join the Facebook CalStuff group.
• Tattoo www.calstuff.com onto your forehead, or if you get around a lot, on your genitals...
  

4. Provide CalStuff with information. We monitor a variety of sources for Berkeley news, but the most effective way to get information to CalStuff is if you drop us a link about something that is happening around campus. Email us at calstuff [at] gmail.com or one of the writers directly with the contact information to the left.

5. Help CalStuff monitor the fire trails. The everpresent threat of rampant marauding gangs of mountain lions is far too large of a danger for CalStuff to monitor on its own, and we are desparate for your assistance.

6. Write a guest post. One interesting limitations of news coverage is that oftentimes coverage of a story will focus around a central figure, and yet that person only gets a brief quotation in the report about the event. If you're involved in a news story, or just have an opinion you would like to express, drop us a line pitching a guest post idea, and we'll let you know if it will fit in here.Email This Post!

Chancellor Backs Down, Avoids Meeting With Mayor

In a somewhat unsurprising turn of events, Chancellor Birgeneau has had his appointment with the ASUC Senate rescheduled to March 2. CalStuff had reported earlier that both Mayor Bates and Chancellor Birgeneau would be in the same room simultaneously, which would have been much more entertaining. Oh well. Hopefully you all still go to the meeting anyway.Email This Post!

Monday Morning Question: Dictator for a Moment!
Let's see if we can beat last week's question, which received 1 comment (thanks Rebecca). What is one policy at Berkeley that you would either add or change if you were put in charge for a moment?

My answer: I would mandate that 1/3 of teachers who assign essays in their classes be randomly selected to submit all student writings to www.turnitin.com or some other service designed to catch plagiarism or cheating. During a discussion with a friend of mine yesterday, he mentioned that if people got away with cheating they should get the A in a class, but he only supported that if there was a legitimate effort to catch cheaters, which currently there is not.

Obviously, there are a lot of other things I'd be up for changing around here (wait for my ASUC campaign for more), I'm just throwing out my displeasure with the sometimes rampant cheating that occurs around here.Email This Post!

Ridiculously Large Berkeley Photograph
Turns out one of the advantages of having really great science programs at Berkeley is that Berkeley grads get to end up doing cool things like going into outer space, where they can then take pictures of the area. You can view the photo by clicking here.
* Update: Link fixed.
(Warning, this is a giant file that coule take a little while to load, but it's detailed enough to find individual houses in Berkeley. Also, it's from space.)

An article descibing the story behind the picture is available also, "Keeping an eye on Cal – from space"

[Thanks to CalStuff reader Alex R. for alerting me to the photo]Email This Post!

Censorship Op-Ed

As Beetle thankfully pointed out, my op-ed in this week's Daily Cal was, somewhat ironically, not placed on the online edition. Hopefully we can get our Reader's Rep on that. In any event, here's the text.

Paved With Good Intentions

The ASUC Senate is notorious for passing outlandish and obscure bills, but this week, its actions have left the realm of naïve idealism and entered that of hypocrisy and disgrace. Earlier this week, it nearly unanimously approved a bill calling for the firing of the employees associated with the airing of the HOT 97 "Tsunami Song" in New York, a satirical song which utilized racially insensitive terms and statements to praise the tsunami which struck nations bordering the Indian Ocean last December.

With this statement, the student government from the home of the Free Speech Movement has proclaimed itself an authority on intolerable hate speech and censors of the world. In doing so, it has spat in the face of those who have worked so hard, both on this campus and elsewhere, for the right to speak freely.

Yes, the "Tsunami Song" is inappropriate, and should not have been aired. It should undoubtedly be condemned, deplored, and disdained. But calling for the punishment of those who created it stands against the ideals of this university and this country. The Free Speech Movement was formed so that people could speak publicly against societal injustices without fear of tangible retaliation from the government or others. They fought for this right while realizing that this meant even the most bigoted and backward people were guaranteed the exact same thing.

But the question must be asked: if punishment is not the right way to fight hateful and prejudiced speech, what is? More speech. Not fighting fire with fire and forcing people to change, but working to educate and allow others to freely reform their ways. Speech purity does not equate or lead to social change, and it never will.

The ASUC cannot just simply lower itself to making moral demands upon society. It needs to realize all the repercussions of its actions and make the most responsible decision. Or, after the horrifying actions it took Wednesday, it should at the very least try to return to a philosophy of mere naïve idealism.

Ben Narodick
SQUELCH! SenatorEmail This Post!

DAAP Offered $15,000 To Settle Lawsuit
Or, How To Extort $15,000 From Your Student Government

The little demon on the ASUC's back that has persisted in poking its head up occasionally since last May seems to be departing soon. After re-filing its case last week, DAAP will be offered approximately $15,000 to cover its attorney fees and withdraw its lawsuit.

My take in this matter can be summed up in two quotes from the Daily Cal article:

"The cost of going ahead with the suit far exceeds (the settlement). It makes economical sense." - ASUC attorney Mark Himmelstein

Yes, it's true, and not just in the economic sense. $15k is a penance for a case like this, and the association has plenty of money set aside for minor inconveniences like this. It's time to move on from the last election, and this might be done just in time for this year's election.

"Every student on this campus should be outraged at what they (DAAP) are doing." - Former JC Chair Mike Davis

The vote was unanimous as stated in the DC article, but I abstained with comment. That comment being: "Yes, this is the right decision, but I can not vote to give a penny, a dime, or $15,000 in student fees to settle. This is a travesty."

Whether or not Senator Felarca feels that her battle was one for free speech rights, the truth of the matter is that there is a right way to get things done and a wrong way. She chose the wrong way - a way that flung mud at the ASUC and took thousands of dollars in student fees away from other, more productive, causes.Email This Post!

Hazing Death at Chico State Causes Ripple Effects at Berkeley

Last week, Chico State witnessed its second fraternity-related death in three years. Interestingly enough, the house that was host to this debacle, Chi Tau, is a group that was expelled from both Chico State and its original national fraternity, Delta Sigma Phi, in 2002 following repeated alcohol rule violations in a crackdown linked to that year's hazing death at Chico.

What has the Berkeley administration done as of yet to cover its own tracks and prevent tragedies like these from occuring? The day after this year's death, officials from the Office of Student Life sent out emails detailing the tragedy and the administration's "zero tolerance" policy on hazing - a textbook reaction. The next few IFC, PHC, and NPHC meetings may be interesting if administrators poke their heads in to reassert authority and attempt to limit university liability. Interestingly enough, the "limited liability" argument seems to have failed here, since Chi Tau was not officially recognized by Chico State. This may give more weight to threats of splitting from IFC which have occasionally propagated since last semester's crackdown on fraternities.Email This Post!

Judicial Council Update

The Daily Cal published an article on Friday about the extension of Bobby Gregg's term on Judicial Council and the addition to the council of Marisa Cuevas. Both may prove to be crucial members of the council - Gregg will be one of only three members to have experience with elections lawsuits, while Cuevas is, if not the first Latina woman on the council ever, the first in a very long tome. Neither of these votes were as contested vote as expected, with each receiving a near unanimous vote for approval.

The Daily Cal also finally covered the resignations of three members of the Judicial Council (Taylor, McCarty, Davis). This is really the key note: that there are still two open spots on the council just weeks from the ASUC Elections, which are tenatively scheduled for April 5-7. In addition, what has caused this recent burst of resignations? Only Mike Davis' resignation was brought on by his impending term expiration. Maybe there should be some sort of small stipends for council members ($500 per year?), in order to drum up more interest and qualified applicants, two things that are currently lacking.Email This Post!

Silly Picture Friday: Tsunami!
Yeah, I went there...

[Too soon?]Email This Post!

Chancellor, Mayor To Visit Senate on Wednesday, 02/16/2005

In what seemingly will prove itself to be tbe ASUC Senate meeting with the most political hot air blown around, both Mayor Bates and Chancellor Birgeneau will be speaking to the student union. This will be Chancellor Birgeneau's first visit to Eshleman Hall to meet with the Senate, and his speech is expected to cover a broad range of topics. Mayor Bates has not visited Eshleman for quite some time (maybe last to return stolen newspapers?) and is expected to speak on behalf of the city's impending lawsuit against the UC Regents.

The fireworks should begin around 7:30.Email This Post!

Tsunami Relief Continues
We're roughly midway through Gigantic Coordinated Tsunami Fundraising Adventure Week (what's it called again?) and the Daily Cal has a report on the efforts so far. A couple things about that article stuck me as a little odd:

1) "As of now, the coalition has raised between $1,000 and $2,000, [James Chong, co-chair of the Asian Pacific Council] said." Granted, Chong clarifies that a lot of the fundraising is ongoing, and estimates are hard to come by, but this still seems rather underwhelming. If things procede at this rate, it doesn't seem like the organizers will reach their own goal of $10,000 dollars for the week.

2) "Tuesday evening’s candlelight vigil, for example, drew more than 200 students to upper Sproul Plaza, Chong said." That quotation comes in the context of Lauren Karasek, vice president of public relations for the Panhellenic Council describing the student population as "responding enthusiastically" and the audience being "huge". Again, this strikes me as underwhelming. More than 200 students is roughly one percent of the student body at Berkeley. Is the apathy here so pervasive that it is considered a success to turn out one percent of the students for an event commemorating a natural disaster that killed hundreds of thousands of people?

3) I get the distinct impression that the lag between the tsunami and these fundraising efforts is hurting participation. Holding events nearly a month and a half after the tsunami makes much of this seem like old news. We're already long past the period of 24 hour news coverage and multiple fundraising drives (I'm guessing that many students inclined to donate already did so through the Red Cross or Amazon.com). Now, weeks later, I've yet to come across anyone who responded with enthusiasm to news of a Charity dinner or 5k run, outside of the organizers of the events. Perhaps the amount of red-tape and logistical work necessary to stage a week-long series of events like this at a University campus, and the lag-time that entails, means this is not a place well suited to raise funds for an event like the tsunami.

4) “I know a little bit about it, but I have very little knowledge of the tsunami efforts in general,” said freshman Stephanie Lo. “It wasn’t well publicized.”

Sounds like someone should be reading CalStuff!Email This Post!

Gangbanging with a Twist
Berkeley High School has a terrible reputation, especially when it comes to crime and safety issues, so I didn't think there would be anything of interest in a Daily Cal newsbrief headlined, "Student Arrested for Loaded Gun in Backpack".

I'm not sure if this is odd or not, but the student in question is a female. I guess all of the equality for women and feminism stuff has made gun-toting females less extraordinary, although the reaction of the school seems a little underwhelming: "Berkeley Unified School District spokesperson Mark Coplan said the student may be expelled." Back when I was in high school, they were suspending kids for taking Tylenol during lunch period, but in Berkeley I guess you can bring a loaded gun to school and not be expelled. Maybe the lack of punishment is because, "Her father had given her the gun for safekeeping."

I almost feel kind of bad for the girl, both for getting in trouble for having the gun at school, and for having a dad who is apparently unrivaled in the parenting department.
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It's Time for Some Tsunami Relief
Here is the schedule of events so far (stolen from the Daily Cal, who made a nice little graphic). More comments on this soon.

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Monday Morning Question: Pets!
Today's question is inspired by the ChiaDog featured in Silly Picture Friday. What are the weirdest/oddest pet stories you've got?

ChiaDog is actually my second pet, as I previously had a goldfish that lasted about 5 days. A friend of mine had an avocado pit that he kept as a pet. During my freshman year, someone in my dorm had some type of covert rodent (I think it was a hamster).
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What Multicultural Center?
As far as I can tell, everyone's favorite liberation front, the Third World Liberation Front (twLF) got punked. Big time. Many of you may remember that big dispute last semester about opening a Multicultural Center (MCC) somewhere on campus. Things left off with threats of a recall campaign against various senators, along with almost everyone involved (administration, SA, CalSERVE, twLF) saying how opening up an MCC would just be the greatest thing ever.

Then this semester rolled around, and all that goodwill and cheer from before must have actually worked some magic, because the Daily Cal was able to announce, "Ready or Not, Multicultural Center Opens Today". Last week, I finally paid the MCC a visit, and there is some bullshit going on, because what I saw was definitely not a Multicultural Center. In fact, there was nothing multicultural about it, at all. There wasn't even a sign calling it the Multicultural Center. I figured there might have been something I was missing out on, so I asked the kind attendant at the front desk if I was at the Multicultural Center, and he said, "We prefer to call it Heller Lounger." I didn't ask who is the "we" that is trying to prevent the creation of an MCC. Is it the ASUC, the Administration, BCR, or maybe Mossad?

See for yourself, no multiculturalism anywhere (click to enlarge)...


*I haven't heard anything more about this since the Daily Cal article ran, although it did offer this helpful information, "We still need to work out a few of the details" from ASUC President Leybovich. I'm curious what details have been worked out besides a location. The ASUC Senators I've talked to don't seem to know what's going on, and the twLF/recall people seem to be keeping a low profile.

*Does it count as a Multicultural Center if a bunch of multicultural people are the ones using it?

*What ever happened to that whole recall thing anyway?

*At the very least, there will apparently be something multicultural opening down on Lower Sproul in 2007, so maybe everyone can just sit tight until then.Email This Post!

Silly Picture Friday: ChiaDog!
Late as usual! Nonetheless, here is this week's silly picture. It was purchased at the street fair held ever year in Berkeley on Telegraph during the two weekends leading up to winter break.

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Just a few weeks ago, the ASUC updated its website with a new look as part of the redesign announced last years. Today, it was sporting another redesign.



Something tells me this isn't what they had in mind.Email This Post!

Before you watch the Super Bowl today (kickoff is at 3:30 PM in case you forgot), you might want to check out anthropology professor Alan Dundes theory on football.

The secret meaning of football, he says, is revealed in the language of football.

"The lingo is so sexual -- to score, to go all the way, deep penetration, jocks. You have all this sexual imagery. Plus the military language -- the blitz, the bomb, the sack, down in the trenches. It's all this stuff about pillage and rape."

Obviously, there are those opposed to this theory.

Sorry about that, folks. Pay no attention to that man. He's a professor at Berkeley, for crying out loud! His theory is obviously nutty. Even his wife hates it.

You can read about this and theories by other professors in this article from the Washington Post.Email This Post!

The Feb. 7th edition of Sports Illustrated profiles its top 25 sports bars in America (paid registration required). Coming in at No. 24 is the Bear's Lair Pub on Lower Sproul.

Everything one could want in a bar- its own home-brewed beer, good grub and one's own stein hanging from the rafters as part of the Mug Club. Plus there's plenty of Big Game tradition. From a seat at the tables, which are the original benches from Memorial Stadium, you can stare up at the goalposts from the 2002 Big Game... that adorn the ceiling. Come in post-football or -hoops and drink with the Cal band and Oski the Bear..., who might be prevailed upon to do his trick of drinking two steins through a tube funneled through one of his eyeholes.

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Following up an earlier post, new plans for Memorial Stadium and the surronding area have been announced. The Newscenter Press Release outlines the general improvement plan (though has no specifics on cost or fundraising) for the area including:

-A major sesmic retrofitting to Memorial Stadium
-A new Academic Commons to be shared by the School of Law (Boalt Hall), Haas School of Business and Intercollegiate Athletics offices. It will be located in between Haas and Boalt.
-A renovation of the Pidemont Ave./Gayley Road area

Meanwhile, Coach Tedford has been busy recruiting for next season. Yesterday was national letter-of-intent day, several high profile recruits have been signed including WR DeSean Jackson, a prospect who elevates the recruiting class into the top 10. The Contra Costa Times has more.

*Update*: Calbears.com has more details on the new recruits.Email This Post!

David Horowitz Coming to Town
Former leftist turned hard-core conservative, David Horowitz, will be speaking this Thursday at 8 pm in 2050 VLSB. The speech, "Ending Intellectual Slavery” is about liberal bias at Berkeley and other campuses. He is being brought in by the Berkeley Campus Republicans, who seem to have decided that bringing in highly controversial speakers (Michelle Malkin) is the way to go. Controversy and a sense of persecution are a hallmark of BCR activities, and someone like Horowitz is clearly designed to further these notions.

Horowitz's last visit to Berkeley was in Spring 2001, when he delivered a speech concerning the advertisement attacking slavery reparations he had previously placed in the Daily Cal. That event ended in near disaster with the organizer of the event (the Patriot Editor) shutting off the microphones for Horowitz and an audience member who was questioning him before Horowitz stormed off the stage. I would assume that the security presence will be similar this year as for his last appearance ("With metal detectors and a SWAT Team-like police presence, the contrived event was little more than a failed publicity stunt. The preparation was overdone: barricades, UCPD, bodyguards—all in an attempt to demonize the opposition.").

The campus leftist contingent (or possibly meddlesome outsiders) is probably planning some type of protest, which will only work to focus attention on the spectacle and help create the atmosphere of controversy and persecution I mentioned above. Those people intent on leading some raucous hallway shoutfest designed to interfere with Horowitz's speech (as occurred with Malkin) or who are planning to cause a disturbance from inside the classroom while he speaks should take some advice from this Daily Cal Editorial:

Thankfully, the opposition just didn't show up. Despite the misplaced presence of a socialist picket line, we applaud the campus groups who boycotted Horowitz's speech to avoid dignifying it with a response...

UC Berkeley's conservative groups have a history of holding events orchestrated to maximize the inflammatory factor. They seem less concerned with fostering conservative thought than with instigating pure havoc. The motive? To have screaming liberals exposed as Brownshirts. It was merely a matter of time before their tactics were exposed to be nothing but farce.

More commentary from me after the event on Thursday, which I am planning to attend.

Find out more about Horowitz at the website he edits, FrontPage Magazine, and a group he supports, Students for Academic Freedom.Email This Post!

Berkeley Science News Roundup
More information on the latest cool/interesting/cutting-edge research coming out of Berkeley.
1)Kelp can reduce level of hormone related to breast cancer risk: Those Concerned with breast cancer should apparently be eating less Thai Basil and more Tako Sushi.

2) Transgenic plants remove more selenium from contaminated soil than wild-type plants, new field tests show: "The new research findings, published today (Tuesday, Feb. 1) in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, show that three transgenic lines of the Indian mustard plant, Brassica juncea, absorbed two to four times more selenium from contaminated soil than the genetically unaltered, wild-type plants." The researchers behind this study are already eyeing the contaminated San Luis Drain as a place to save millions on clean-up costs by using the plants.

3) Dr. Ecstasy This article is funny because it contains this throw-away line, "When Shulgin had his first psychedelic experience in 1960, he was a young U.C. Berkeley biochemistry Ph.D. working at Dow Chemical." That's the Berkeley I know and love.

4) Shaken by scandal, University of California considers barcodes for cadavers: Black-market body sales have led to an increase in protective measures. It's nice to know that the dead bodies on campus will have better security than Hearst Mining Building, Tolman Hall, Boalt Hall, the Greek Theatre, campus newspapers, and campus fraternities.
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